Haverhill fever

Haverhill fever

[ha´ver-il]

an acute form of rat-bite fever caused by Streptobacillus moniliformis and transmitted by the bite of an infected rat. Characteristics include an erythematous eruption and more or less generalized arthritis, with adenitis, headache, and vomiting. It was first described in Haverhill, Massachusetts, in 1926.

Ha·ver·hill fe·ver

an infection by Streptobacillus moniliformis marked by initial chills and high fever (gradually subsiding), by arthritis usually in the larger joints and spine, and by a rash occurring chiefly over the joints and on the extensor surfaces of the extremities; "Haverhill fever" is used to indicate S. moniliformis infections not associated with rat bite but resulting from contaminated food or water.

Haverhill fever

[hā′vəril]

Etymology: Haverhill, Massachusetts, disorder first diagnosed, 1925

a febrile disease caused by infection with Streptobacillus moniliformis, usually transmitted by the bite of a rat but sometimes transmitted by secretion from the mouth, nose, or urine of an infected rodent. The spirochete-like bacterium is normally present in rat saliva. Characteristically the wound from the bite heals, but within 10 days fever, chills, vomiting, headache, and muscle and joint pain occur, followed within 3 days by a rash. Treatment with antibiotics is effective. S. moniliformis is identified by laboratory analysis using fluorescent antibody screening. Also called streptobacillary rat-bite fever.

Ha·ver·hill fe·ver

(hav'ĕr-hil fē'ver)

An infection by Streptobacillus moniliformis, usually due to a rat bite, marked by initial chills and high fever (gradually subsiding), by arthritis usually in the larger joints and spine, and by a rash occurring chiefly over the joints and on the extensor surfaces of the extremities. Synonym(s): erythema arthriticum epidemicum.

[Haverhill, MA, where an epidemic occurred in 1926]

Haverhill fever

An epidemic of RAT-BITE FEVER caused, not by rat bites, but by contamination of milk with the causal organism, Streptobacillus moniliformis . Haverhill is a township in Massachusetts where the first outbreak was recognized in 1926.

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